While yet another round of tougher UN sanctions is initiated against North Korea, tensions between North and South Korea have eased as they agree to talk to each other against the backdrop of the Winter Olympics. Meanwhile, a curious meeting on the nuclear standoff is convened in Vancouver, but without China or Russia. However, it is what happens after the Winter Olympics that will determine the way forward, as North Korea continues its march to achieve a credible nuclear weapons capability. Marius will argue that the window for verifiable and irreversible North Korean denuclearization has passed and we now need to look at the diplomacy of containment and de-escalation, all in the context of the “new Great Game” being played out by an ascendant China and a retreating United States.

Marius Grinius

After serving in the Canadian Army for 12 years Marius joined the Foreign Service in 1979. His early postings included Bangkok, Brussels/NATO and Hanoi. Assignments in Ottawa included Foreign Affairs (nuclear arms control, South East Asia), the Privy Council Office (social policy, security and intelligence) and Western Economic Diversification. Marius is the former Canadian Ambassador to Vietnam (1997-99), South Korea (2004-07) and concurrently North Korea (2005-07) and to the United Nations and Conference on Disarmament in Geneva (2007-11). Prior to retiring in 2012 he served at DND as Director-General for International Security Policy. Marius is a Fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute.